Dog saves boy who fell into a well

Kollin was flying a kite, when he accidentally fell 10 feet to the bottom of a sewer; it took Bloodhound Copper (inset) 20 minutes to find the boy. (Photo Credit: KUTV Channel 2/WVCPD Facebook)

Many of us know the story of how Lassie, a Colliewho appeared in his own television show (and movies) from the mid 1950s to the mid 1970s 1960s saved Timmy, the boy he lived with from a fall in a well. Well life follows fiction.

A Bloodhoundnamed Copper rescued 6-year-old Kollin Bailey from a well. Bailey, a native of Herriman, Utah, was flying his kite on Friday, December 6, when he tripped and fell 10 feet into a sewer. He hit his head and became unconscious for a while.

When he awoke, he screamed for help. Unfortunately, no one heard his cries.

His mother reported him missing, and the West Valley City Police Department sent out a search party with Copper, who found Kollin within 20 minutes. Bloodhounds have approximately 300 million smell receptors that help them locate missing people.

A police officer with the K-9 unit descended into the well to lift Bailey out. The young boy was taken to a nearby hospital and treated for a broken arm, bruises, and a mild concussion.

The next day, Bailey met Copper and presented him with a bag filled with dog treats. “He saved my life,” Bailey tells KUTV Channel 2. “I was really scared. I thought I was going to miss Christmas.”

This was not Copper’s first time locating a missing person. He has tracked down 81 suspects and missing people. “To him, it is just a game of hide and seek,” said Sergeant Shane Matteson, his handler. “It’s kind of a nice change of pace from finding bad guys to actually helping a family out.”